Cars and Stripes Forever! — the Port of Los Angeles’ popular kick-off to the Fourth of July and other summer events that will follow — drew the usual crowds of people ready to celebrate Independence Day.
The free event, which debuted in 2008, took place on Friday night, June 26, in a slightly new location this year: the Battleship Iowa on San Pedro’s growing recreational waterfront. It has typically been staged next to the Vincent Thomas Bridge, just to the north.
But this year, a series of challenges prompted the change.
The Iowa is already offering a larger landslide footprint, and there were also two cruise ships that arrived Friday morning, making the event set-up starting that morning more challenging, according to port officials.
The engine of the Winans’ family-owned 1969 Plymouth Road Runner sits on display during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Attendees look over a classic car during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Attendees look over the engine of a classic car during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
A girl walks past a classic car during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
From left, owner Ron Winans and Jeanne Winans take a photo besides their family-owned 1969 Plymouth Road Runner during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Fireworks light up the night sky during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Classic cars sit in front of the USS Iowa battleship for the first time during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Classic trucks sit on display during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
The band Midlife Crisis performs for the crowd during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Kids and adults alike look at various classic cars on display during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Fireworks light up the night sky during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
A couple looks over a classic car during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
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The engine of the Winans’ family-owned 1969 Plymouth Road Runner sits on display during the Cars & Stripes Forever! event in San Pedro on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
The popular outdoor family event draws large crowds every year to enjoy live music, a beer garden, food trucks, and hundreds of classic cars and motorcycles — and, of course, the climactic fireworks show.
Taking place annually a week before the Fourth of July holiday — which will also mark the nation’s 250th birthday this year — Cars and Stripes has quickly become one of San Pedro’s most-anticipated summer traditions.
San Pedro, meanwhile, will once again celebrate July 4 with the 76th annual John Olguin Fireworks Show. Crowds are expected to gather in large numbers on and around Cabrillo Beach, 3800 Stephen M. White Drive, as well as the southern coastline and many of the hillsides of San Pedro for that show, which will start at about 9 p.m. on July 4. Many families make a day of it, with picnics and swimming at the beach.
The Cabrillo Beach Boosters sponsors the July 4 fireworks show, now named after educator, conservationist and longtime community leader John Olguin, the former lifeguard who launched the tradition by collecting donations each year to fund the show.
Olguin died Jan. 1, 2011, at the age of 89 and was one of the port town’s best-known figures, with a lifelong commitment to Cabrillo Beach and marine education — embodied now at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium — having impacted generations of Harbor Area-residents.
The July 4 fireworks will emanate from Pier 46.
Earlier on July 4, the 49th annual community observance and ceremony will take place at the Korean Friendship Bell in Angels Gate Park, 3601 S. Gaffey St.
That free event honoring America’s independence has been held every year since the bell’s installation in 1976.
The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a march to the bell, with the program starting at 11 a.m.
There will be guest speakers and dignitaries leading the audience in reciting the names of the 13 original American states as representatives of the community strike a battering ram into the massive bell, once for each state.
Officially, the Korean Bell is rung only on five other occasions each year: Juneteenth (June 19), Korean Independence Day (Aug. 15), Constitution Day (Sept. 21), New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) and Korean American Day (Jan. 13).